This fixture is never one for the purists but the pure joy and elation fans get from a victory is second to none, and it was Palace that grabbed all three points to end a long run without a win.
MATCH INFORMATION
| 8 February 2026 – 2pm |
| Brighton & Hove Albion 0-1 Crystal Palace |
| Premier League |
| American Express Stadium |
PLAYER RATINGS
| 1 | Dean HENDERSON © | 6.7 |
| 2 | Daniel MUNOZ | 7.0 |
| 8 | Jefferson LERMA | 7.8 |
| 5 | Maxence LACROIX | 7.8 |
| 26 | Chris RICHARDS | 7.2 |
| 3 | Tyrick MITCHELL | 6.9 |
| 19 | Will HUGHES (18 Daichi KAMADA 88 mins) | 7.2 (6.1) |
| 20 | Adam WHARTON | 6.7 |
| 7 | Ismaila SARR (11 Brennan JOHNSON 88 mins) | 6.7 (6.0) |
| 10 | Yeremy PINO (29 Evan GUESSAND 56 mins) | 6.2 (7.2) |
| 22 | Jorgen Strand LARSEN | 6.2 |
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES – 12 Christantus UCHE, 17 Nathaniel CLYNE, 23 Jaydee CANVOT, 24 Borna SOSA, 34 Chadi RIAD, 44 Walter BENITEZ
| 1 | Bart VERBRUGGEN | 6.6 |
| 24 | Ferdi KADIOGLU | 6.1 |
| 5 | Lewis DUNK | 7.0 |
| 21 | Olivier BOSCAGLI | 7.2 |
| 29 | Maxim De CUYPER (11 Yankuba MINTEH 71 mins) | 6.1 (6.1) |
| 17 | Carlos BALEBA (25 Diego GOMEZ 71 mins) | 6.1 (6.3) |
| 30 | Pascal GROSS | 6.7 |
| 53 | Harry HOWELL (18 Danny WELBECK 71 mins) | 6.2 (6.2) |
| 22 | Kaoru MITOMA | 6.0 |
| 10 | Georginio RUTTER (33 Matt O’REILLY 82 mins) | 5.8 (6.0) |
| 19 | Charalampos KOSTOULAS (13 Jack HINSHELWOOD 82 mins) | 6.4 (6.1) |
UNUSED SUBSTITUTES – 3 Igor JULIO, 20 James MILNER, 23 Jason STEELE, 34 Joel VELTMAN
POST GAME QUOTES
OLIVER GLASNER
“At the end, yes. The first half was not so good but we were very competitive in the duals. We took our chance. It was a good chance for them as well. Clean sheet, winning after months of not winning and then in an away game against Brighton, where it means so much for our fans. A great Sunday afternoon.
It was a relief. We can talk and analyse but you can never replace a win. We deserved it at the end, we couldn’t expect to play our best football but we were very compact and aggressive.
Our defenders did so well. Jeff Lerma had six or seven balls to clear but we were never surprised. We knew how they wanted to play. We didn’t give them a lot of crosses. We didn’t allow them to get a second chance. Everyone did their job.
EVAN GUESSAND
“It was crazy. The game today was crazy! The two teams fought like animals. “We saw the fans really excited for this game, because we know it’s a rivalry. In the end, Palace won, because I think we deserved this victory. It was a long time we haven’t won a game in the league and with the quality we have in the team, I think we deserve more. If we keep in this way, with the players we have, we can have more victories.”
MATCH STATISTICS
| Star Man | Jefferson LERMA, Maxence LACROIX (7.8) |
| Goals | Ismaila SARR (61) |
| Assists | Evan GUESSAND (61) |
| Most shots | Jogen Strand LARSEN (3) |
| Most tackles | Maxence LACROIX, Jefferson LERMA (4) |
| Most dribbles | Tyrick MITCHELL, Evann GUESSAND (2) |
| Team rating | 6.30 – 6.83 |
| Total shots | 7 – 7 |
| Shots on target | 2 – 4 |
| Yellow cards | Will HUGHES (17), Daniel MUNOZ (80), Diego GOMEZ (85), Jorgen Stand LARSEN (85) |
| Red cards | None |
| Possession | 63.8% – 36.2% |
| Pass success | 85% – 70% |
| Passes | 557 – 311 |
| Dribbles | 5 – 7 |
| Aerials won | 22 – 17 |
| Tackles | 17 – 21 |
| Fouls | 12 – 9 |
| Corners | 3 – 4 |
| Saves | 3 – 2 |
| Dispossessed | 11 – 11 |
TEB VERDICT
That was quite a way to end the poor run of form and the perfect venue to do so, but no matter how a season is progressing, it is always such a joy beating our rivals on the South Coast especially on their own patch.
Truth is that the visitors looked much better as Oliver Glasner incorporated all the new signings who played a value part along with the old guard in seeing the Eagles take victory.
It was a gritty performance whereby Palace traded punches with the hosts with very little quality being shown, and the way the game was going it looked like it was going to be one goal that took the points.
A staunch defensive performance set the tone for the Eagles to build on, but Dean Henderson was rarely tested by the hosts. Then up stepped Ismaila Sarr to grab what proved to be the winner with new signing making his debut off the bench to provide the assist in a matter of minutes.
There were several good performances to pick out but the plaudits go to the defence for standing firm throughout.
This could be the perfect foundation to build on and hopefully turn a corner after all the turmoil that the club and fans has had to endure in recent week, not to mention the run of games without a win which can now be a thing of the past.
LEAGUE POSITION
| P | W | D | L | GD | PTS | ||
| 12 | Newcastle United | 25 | 9 | 6 | 10 | -1 | 33 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace | 25 | 8 | 8 | 9 | -3 | 32 |
| 14 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 25 | 7 | 10 | 8 | 1 | 31 |
UPCOMING FIXTURES
| DATE | TEAM | LOCATION | COMPETITION | KICK OFF TIME |
| 11/02/2026 | Burnley | Home | Premier League | 7.30pm |
| 19/02/2026 | Zrinkski Mostar | Away | Conference League | 5.45pm |
| 22/02/2026 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | Home | Premier League | 2pm |
